"You matter because you are you and you matter to the
last moment of your life and we will do all we can not only to help you
die peacefully but to live until you die."
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(Mother Teresa)
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Train of Thought...
The research for this thesis originated with the recognition
of an increasingly large aging population due in part to the baby boomer generation,
which will result in the inevitable requirement for more retirement homes
or seniors’ housing. From on onset, the process that was planned was
to first study the age demographics in the Montreal area in order to substantiate
the initial claim. The next step was to review various seniors’ housing
precedents in order to establish the type of facilities
required in the near future. While researching, it was brought to my
attention that palliative care for seniors in Montreal was exclusively offered
in hospitals geriatric wards. I have always seen hospitals as a place
for healing, a place where people go on short or on longer terms in order
to be diagnosed and treated for their ailments. However, is it appropriate
for ailing seniors to live the final stage of their life in a hospital bed.
There comes a point in the attempt to
treat a patient when the reality of death becomes imminent. In the
case of terminally ill patients, healing is not an issue, rather comfort
of the patient and their loved ones should take precedence. How can
architecture cater to the needs of those living in this final stage of
life and that of those surrounding them. This thesis will attempt
to answer this question through the design of a hospice dedicated to housing
dying individuals and helping them and their loved ones cope with death
and mortality.
This thesis had initially begun by exploring housing
for seniors. However, we are all well aware that death and mortality
does not simply affect people of the third age. It is, therefore, important
that people of all ages have access to services offered by the hospice.
Aside from sleeping quarters, the hospice should also offer services such
as professional grief counseling and meeting rooms for support programs, amongst
other things. The program is further discussed on the Program
Analysis and Development page. While keeping in mind that we are
all faced with mortality at some point in our life, the hospice will be designed
in order to meet the needs of people of all walks of life.
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